Theme: Putting the ‘social’ into interventions: networks, norms, and relationships

Keynote speakers:

Claire Harding, Big White Wall

Big White Wall is a digital mental health service, offering peer support, group programmes and one to one therapy. It is commissioned by the UK military, local NHS organisations, and some universities and employers. This presentation will discuss the challenges and opportunities of delivering mental health services online: how are they similar and different to face to face care? How do we study the impact of digital projects when we can’t ask people face to face? What do digital services mean for health inequalities? And what does it all mean for the NHS?

Dr Neil Coulson, University of Nottingham

In the last two decades we have witnessed a significant rise in the number of online peer-to-peer support communities that have been established to support those affected by a range of health or social problems. In this talk, I shall review the growing engagement with online peer support communities can at times be problematic, therefore this talk will also consider the evidence in relation to potential limitations or harmful effects.